Poultry packing table



Patented Apr. 15, 1952 POULTRY PACKING TABLE Ray V. Mathews, Ottumwa, Iowa, assignor to Swift & Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application December 7,- 1948, Serial No. 63,999 2 Claims. (01. 226-129) This invention relates to packaging equipment, and more particularly to an arrangement to iacilitate the loading of dressed poultry products into a shipping case.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved working table for the loading of poultry products for shipment in the trade.

. It is another object of this invention to provide tions at the grading and packing station to materially speed up the ultimate packing of the an improved packing table to facilitate the lining of aswire-bound box with a paper liner and the loading of the box with poultry product.

It is another object of this invention to provide a working table for use during the operation of packing, graded poultry products into a shipping case.

It is another object of this invention to provide a working table designed for expediting the labeling and packaging of poultry products.

ture, and the like.

other product of the same grade.

It is another object of this invention to provide a workingtable to be used for the lining of a shipping case, the labeling of poultry product,

and the loading of the labeled product into the lined box.

It is another object of this invention to provide a working table for accommodating different sizes of shipping cases which are adapted to receive difierent grades of poultry product while the respective boxes are being loaded.

. It is another object of this invention to provide .a working table for the accommodation of differ- I, I In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of a preferred em-- bodiment of this invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the packing table;

and

Figure 9 is a top plan view of the packing table. The present invention has been made particudressed product for shipment into retail channels.

Poultry from the dressing line is graded into a number of different classifications as described in my above-mentioned application. Ordinarily, during any particular season the entire production of the poultry product is graded into as many as 2'7 different classifications, depending upon the characteristics of color, weight, body struc- After the product has been graded it is placed in a proper bin along with The product remains stored in these grading bins while wash water drains from the dressed poultry, and as the individual bins become filled, they are removed from the grading rack and are delivered to the packing table of this invention. At this station the birds are removed from their respective grading bins and are packed into wire-bound boxes of just the right size to suitably accommodate 12 of the dressed poultry carcasses.

In the usual packaging of such product for shipment into the retail trade, the packing box is lined with paper on all sides and at the ends, and the birds are packed into the box in a manner to have a snug fit. The birds are preferably labeled at this stage of the packaging procedure with a decal, which is stuck onto the breast of each carcass. When 12 carcasses have been placed in a box, the liner material is folded over the product and the box is closed.

The packing table of this invention provides an improved arrangement for fixedly holding the wire-bound boxes while they are being lined with paper and loaded. A suitable clamping means is built into the table to hold the box, and the box is tipped up somewhat to provide a convenient angle for working in it so that the individual carcasses may be snugly fitted into the container.

7 The table also has a means for holding the gradlarly for use with the grading bin structure shown both provided for use in the modern poultry pack ing plant which is designed to handle a large volume of product, and the present invention func This packing bench; as well as the grading bin structure, are;

ing bin into whichthe dressed carcasses have been loaded, so that the individual carcasses may be conveniently handled while being passed from the grading bin to the wire-bound box. A labeling station is situated between the grading-bin holder and the box holder'so that each carcass may be labeled before it is positioned in the box being loaded. The packing table also includes a suitable storage means adjacent the box-loading position for holding several rolls of paper liner :material in such a manner that it may be measured oil" and placed in the box. 06

Referring to the preferred form of the invention, shown in the drawings, the table structure is mounted on suitable supports I0, and at the right side of the table, as best shown in Figure 1, a box holder II is provided to accommodate wirebound boxes of different sizes. At holder II, a pair of supporting bars I2 and I3 are carried in the frame of the table, and a clamping plate I4 is movably mounted on bars I2 and I3 so as to slide laterally whereby to clamp the box to be loaded between it and the fixed wall I5 integral with the table. mounted from suitable slide-bearing guides I6 and I! which ride on the supporting bars I2 and I3, so that the plate I4 is always held parallel with the wall I5, and a suitable ratchet means is provided for holding plate I4 tight against a box positioned between the clamp plate I4 and plate I5. The ratchet includes a detent and a ratchet 2I, which cooperate to hold the clamp plate I4 fixed against the wall of a box. The detent; may be released after a box has been loaded by lifting the handle 22 fixed to the detent.

A plurality of rolls of paper for lining the box is carried above the box-holding station, and these rolls are carried in a frame 25, fixedly supported from the table. The rolls are positioned suchthat the several rolls of paper 25, 27, and 28 are heldapproximately over a box to be loaded, which has been-clamped between the clamping plate I4 and fixed plate I5 and is held on bars I2 and I3. The rolls of paper are cut to have different widths and each roll provides lining material to be'used in the packing of a box of particular size. Each of the rolls of paper is double rolled; i. e., two sheets of paper are simultaneously wrapped together to form the paper rolls, and the rolls are mounted in frame 25 with the rolls 26 and 21 of shorter width disposed toward the back end of the tame and with the longer roll 28 hung from the front side of frame 25 in somewhat overlapping relationship with respect to roll 21. Each of the rolls has a cut-off bar 29 mounted across the front face thereof, and fixed to each of the cut-off bars is a measuring ruler 30. Each of the rulers 30 is marked off in units equivalent to the grade of poultry being packed for a purpose that will appear more fully below.

To the left of the box-holding station a suitable grading bin support rack is provided for tinue to drain from the grading bins, and pref-- e'ra'bly the grading bins are held at a slight angle so that such drainage is encouraged.

Between the box-holding station and the binholding means, a suitable label supply is situated which includes several pockets 50, 5I, and 52 for holding different labeling indicia. A compartinent 53 is also provided for holding a suitable moistening sponge so that the decals or labels held in the different pockets may be wetted as they are about to be placed on the breasts of the poultry product being packed.

In using this packing table, a bin loaded with the graded poultry product is placed on the binholding means. Having a knowledge of the grade of poultry in the bin, the loader can then select a wire-bound box of proper size to snugly hold 12of the particular poultry carcasses.

-When the proper size ofbcx has beenselected,

The clamping plate I4 may be it is placed on the bars I2 and I3 between the plates I4 and I5, and the clamping plate is moved toward the fixed plate I5 to fixedly engage the box at the box-loading station. The ratchet ordinarily falls into place and holds the clamp plate I4 tight against the box, and the box is thus held in a tilted position, facing up toward the operator. 7

After the box has been clamped in place, a suitable length of the double-rolled lining paper is drawn from the proper roll and measured of! in accordance with the grade of poultry being packed. The measurement may be made. from the grade indications provided on the measuring sticks 30, and when a proper length has been drawn off, it is served from the roll by tearing it across the cut-01f bar 29. The two sheets of paper which are thus simultaneously cut off are folded in conventional manner and placed in the box to line the bottom and two sides lengthwise of the box. Then a second and shorter length of paper is drawnoff from the double rolled suppl so that the ends of the box may be covered with the paper liner. v h

After all the walls of the box have been lined as described, the poultry carcasses may be removed from the grading bin and labelled with a suitable indication of grade, trade-mark, or whatever desired labeling is to be used. As each carcass is labelled, it is placed in the lined b'ox until I2 have been placed therein. After the carcasses have been snugly fitted into place, the side liners are folded over the top of the carcasses and then the end liners are folded into place. The wire-bound box is then closed, and after the packing operation has been completed, the detent 20 of the ratchet may be released'slo that the loaded box can be removed from the packing table. 7 t I The packing table here described may be used to greatly speed up the loading of graded poultry product into the conventional retail shipping case, and also provides for a much ne'ater package in that the shipping case is held firmly in place while loading is accomplished. Also, the poultry product may be labeled and quickly loaded into the lined shipping container under the most sanitary conditions, and a compact arrangement the most convenient position for facilitating the packaging operation. n

The above description covers the preferred arrangement of this invention. Itis obvious that many modifications may occur to those skilled in the art, which will fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a device for use in the packing of poultry into suitable shipping containers from the bins into which the poultry is placed during the grave ing and washing operation, wherein a table memher is so positioned and arranged as to support at one end and partly depressed within the surface thereof a forwardly-inclined poultry bin, and at the other end thereof means to fixedly secure in a forwardly-inclined relationship with said table a poultry shipping container, the com: bination with said table of a paper holding means vertically disposed adjacent tofand rearwardly of said inclined holding means for said shipping container, said paper holding means comprising a relatively narrow vertical frame affxed to the rear of said table, a plurality of double-wound rolls of paper rotatably suspended within said frame, the lowermost rolls being suspended parallel to and substantially directly above the rear edge of said table, and the uppermost roll being suspended forwardly of said lower rolls and substantially directly above the rear edge of said container holding means to lacilitate the deposition of paper from said roll Within a container secured thereon, cut-oil oars positioned laterally across each of said rolls and supported by said frame, and indicator means for each roll afiixed to said cut-off bars and provided with indicia selected in accordance with the grade of poultry to be packed in the shipping container.

2. In a device for use in the packing of poultry into suitable shipping containers from the bins into which the poultry is placed during the grading and washing operation, wherein a table mem ber is so positioned and arranged as to support at one end and partly depressed within the surface thereof a forwardly-inclined poultry bin, and at the other end thereof means for holding a plurality of paper rolls disposed vertically above said table, the combination with said table of a container holding means affixed to said table adjacent to and forwardly of said paper holding means, said container holding means comprising a pair of laterally extending supporting bars fixedly secured to said table, the rearmost bar being at a substantially higher elevation than the foremost bar, ratchet means fixedly secured to said table member at a point to one side of and substantially midway of said bars, a pair of vertically extending clamping plates extending transversely of said bars, one of said plates being fixedly secured to said table member and the other of said plates being movably mounted on guide means adapted to slide along said bars, detent means afiixed to said movably mounted plate and adapted to engage said ratchet means, and means to release the detent from engagement with said ratchet.

RAY V. lvlATlrlEws.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 848,682 Pease Apr. 2, 1907 1,382,950 Brand June 28, 1921 1,501,619 Pickell July 15, 1924 1,530,977 Brady et a1 Mar. 24, 1925 1,824,979 Black Sept. 29, 1931 2,023,147 Petskeyes Dec. 3, 1935 2,073,007 Grow Mar. 9, 1937 

